Tasting Notes: Innis & Gunn Blonde & Original Oak Aged
Brewery: Innis & Gunn
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
ABV: 6.0% / 6.6%
Version: Bottled (both)
Source: Courtesy of Innis & Gunn
We've actually covered both these beers on Blog o' Beer before now - Joe was full of praise for the Original Oak Aged and Ed enjoyed the Blonde (although he preferred for the Oak Aged) - but I wanted to re-visit them both myself, for a couple of reasons. First off, so I can send a thank you shout out to Nicky at R&R Teamwork, who sent these bottles along on Innis & Gunn's behalf. And secondly because it afforded me the opportunity to re-visit the Oak Aged and provide a more direct comparison of the two in the process.
I tried the Blonde first, it being the lighter of the two. I have to say, it was a lot richer than I expected it would be. It had a definite hop-based character but with a lingering malty sweetness as well. The golden colour and faintly zesty aroma was extremely pleasant as well: all in all an extremely satisfying, well-rounded beer that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The Oak Aged followed and to my surprise - especially considering Ed's comparison and taking Joe's rapturous praise into account - I actually found this one to be slightly less flavourful than the Blonde. It was noticeably smoother and richer, certainly, with a more pronounced sweetness and a more enticing aroma, but still... the Blonde just had a bit more bite to it, a bit more going on in the taste-bud-tingling department.
You know, I have to say - and this surprised me, given my usual preferences for darker, stronger, sweeter beers - that I actually preferred the Blonde to the Oak Aged. Perhaps the longer maturation process in the case of the Oak Aged ends up knocking off the Blonde's remaining edges? If so, it's almost a shame; the Oak Aged's velvet mouth-feel with the Blonde's sharper punch would make for a hell of a combination.
Don't get me wrong, though. Both are extremely fine beers. I'd happily drink either one of them again and no doubt will before too long. In fact, perhaps I should do so sooner rather than later while, just to make sure this comparative tasting experiment didn't generate a fluke result? Sounds like a plan to me.
Related posts:
I took the opportunity to contrast and compare these two as well, since Nicky sent me over a bottle of each as well.
I stick by my original opinion, I just feel the extra hoppiness from the Blonde contrasts too much with the warm oaky notes of the original. To be honest I thought the original I received seemed below par as well. Maybe it was the small bottle, I usually get the 750ml ones from Sainsburys and the flavours seem more pronounced in that one.
[permalink for this comment]